Wednesday, September 10, 2008
In the Land of the Free
This story shows just how much immigrants go through, to gave resident in the United States. It that the hardship that people go through when they don't have money to pay their way through the legal system. It also teaches us the sad true of what happen when a child is separated from their real parents for a long time. The child in this story went through an emotional trauma, during the time he was taken away from his parent. His mother also went through an emotional trauma. The story tells alot about the relatioship of a mother and her child, as oppose to a father son relationship. Immigrants, I am sure go through similar ordeal, when they are not legal in this country. Families are separated from each other, and sometimes for long period of time, trying to comply with the legal system. Money obviously plays a vital part in how long the process takes for an immigrant to get his or her and their families their permanent resident in the United States.
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4 comments:
I wonder if the father's actions in this story can be contriuted to the fact that he really did not know his son. He met his son for the first as they were geting off the boat. He seemed so nonshalont about thoes men takeing his son from him that by todays' standereds wewould call him crazy. however if this is a story out of the early 1900s this was a time when men did not take a huge role in the child care. I think he just was not attached to the child and that is why his reation to the boy being taken seemed so cold like it was not a big deal. Even in the end it was the mother who got her child back by giving up her jewlery to pay the fees for their layer to go to DC and work outt the case. in the end he did nothing to get his own son back. she did it herself becuse he would not take the nessasary action. Good thing a mother's love is deeper then a lawyer's pocket.
I understand that the father did not know his son from birth, so he might not be as attached as the mother. But he's known his wife for a very long time and to see her go through that type of deterioration into deep depression is wrong. He should have done a lot better by his wife and his son. Maybe he could not have done anything at the beginning, but you don't let your child stay in a missionary house for ten months without going to DC yourself to inquire about the situation. I would have moved to DC and camped outside their door until they dealt with me.
I agree with the comment presented in class that the story is symbolic of the actual experience of immigrant parents. Many immigrants bring their children to America to enable them to receive a better education, have better options, and want them to have a better life. However, it seems that more often than not, the children begin to embrace the "foreign" culture of America rather than the "traditional" culture of the parents. In this way, the parents often feel as if they are being pushed away by the children rather than respected for the sacrifices they have made.
The story "In the Land of the Free", father Hom Hing was acquainted with his son for the first time; he seemed content and happy with meeting his son. Although he did not react the same way his wife did when his son was taken away, he did plead with the officer to keep his son in his possession. Generally speaking, it’s evident that a newborn child feels a deeper connection with the mother because of the birth itself and the regular feeding cycles. While this does not morally justify why the father did not react the same way the mother did, it does explain and elaborate as to why the mother reacted more profusely than the father. The father and his new born son and just met and had not even had a chance to connect before his son was taken away from him. While the months did pass, I’m sure the father was thinking about the son as much as the Mother was, but was remaining strong as a way of hope for his wife.
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